History of the Middle East facts for kids

A map of the Middle East today

A map showing areas often called the Near East

The Middle East, also known as the Near East, is a very old and important part of the world. It's where some of the first civilizations began, and it has seen many ancient cultures and empires. The story of this region goes back to the very first human settlements and continues through powerful empires, both before and after the rise of Islam, right up to the countries we see today.

Around 5,000 years ago, the Sumerians in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) developed the first complex societies, which we call "civilizations." Soon after, around 3150 BC, ancient Egypt became a united country under its first pharaoh. Mesopotamia was home to strong empires like the Assyrian Empires, which ruled much of the Middle East. Later, Iranian empires like the Achaemenid Empire became very powerful.

By the 1st century BC, the growing Roman Republic took control of much of the Eastern Mediterranean, including parts of the Near East. The Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, ruled a vast area from the Balkans to the Euphrates River. This empire was strongly Christian, which sometimes caused religious differences with people in other parts of the Middle East. For several centuries, the Byzantines and the Sasanian Empire (another powerful Iranian empire) shared control of the region.

Then, in the 7th century AD, a new force emerged: Islam. Arab armies quickly spread across the Middle East. However, their rule changed in the mid-11th century with the arrival of the Seljuq dynasty (Turkic people). In the early 13th century, new invaders, the Mongols, swept through the region. By the 15th century, the Ottoman Turks rose to power. In 1453, they captured the Christian Byzantine capital, Constantinople, and became sultans.

For centuries, starting in the early 16th century, the Middle East was often a battleground between the Ottomans and the Iranian Safavid dynasty. By 1700, European powers like the British Empire and the French colonial empire started to become more influential in the region, especially in the Persian Gulf, Lebanon, and Syria. In 1912, Italy took control of Libya and some islands near Turkey.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, leaders in the Middle East tried to modernize their countries to keep up with Europe. A huge change happened when oil was discovered. First in Persia (Iran) in 1908, and later in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf countries. This made the region incredibly important to the world, especially as Western countries needed more oil. As British influence decreased, American interest in the Middle East grew.

During the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, countries like Syria and Egypt worked towards becoming independent. After World War II (1939–1945), the British, French, and Soviets left many parts of the Middle East. The conflict between Arabs and Israelis in Palestine became very intense, leading to the United Nations plan in 1947 to divide Palestine. During the Cold War, a movement called pan-Arabism grew in Arabic-speaking countries, aiming to unite them. The departure of European powers, the creation of Israel, and the importance of the petroleum industry all shaped the modern Middle East. In many countries, economic growth was slow due to political issues and too much reliance on oil. The richest countries per person are the small, oil-rich nations of the Persian Gulf: Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.

Several events in the late 20th century, like the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, and the 1979 Iranian Revolution, led to a rise in Islamism (a political movement based on Islamic laws). After the Fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, global focus shifted to fighting terrorism. In the early 2010s, a series of protests and uprisings known as the Arab Spring swept through many Middle Eastern and North African countries. Later, a group called the Islamic State (ISIL) caused major conflicts in Iraq and Syria.

The term Near East can sometimes be used to mean the same as Middle East. However, when talking about ancient history, Near East often refers more specifically to the northern areas where Aramaic languages were spoken, and nearby parts of Anatolia (modern Turkey).

Geography and Early Life

Geographically, the Middle East includes Western Asia plus Egypt (which is in North Africa), but it usually doesn't include the Caucasus region. This area was the first to experience the Neolithic Revolution (around 10,000 BCE), where people started farming. It was also the first to enter the Bronze Age (around 3300–1200 BC) and the Iron Age (around 1200–500 BC).

Historically, people settled near water. This is why many people live near the Nile River in Egypt, and the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia. These rivers were vital for irrigation and farming. In the Levant (eastern Mediterranean coast), farming relied on rain. Because travel by sea was easier, civilizations along the Mediterranean, like the Phoenicians, traded a lot. The Middle East has had several common languages over time: Akkadian, Aramaic, Greek, and Arabic. Today, Arabic is widely spoken, but not in Turkey, Iran, or Israel.

The Middle East is the birthplace of major religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Many ancient people followed local religions, but over time, Christianity and then Islam became widespread. Today, there are still many Christian groups, Jews (mostly in Israel), and followers of older Iranian religions like Zoroastrianism.

Ancient Civilizations

The ancient Near East was a place of many firsts. It was the first to have year-round farming and trade using money. It also gave the world the first writing system, invented the potter's wheel and later the wheel for vehicles and mills. The first centralized governments and law codes were created here, along with the first city-states where people had different jobs. Important fields like astronomy and mathematics also began here. However, these early empires also brought strict social classes, slavery, and organized warfare.

The First Civilizations: Sumer and Akkad

The very first civilizations in history appeared in the Middle East around 3500 BC. The Sumerians in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) are often called the "cradle of civilization." The Sumerians and later the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians all thrived in this region.

Around 2340 BC, Sargon the Great united the city-states in the south and created the Akkadian dynasty, which was the world's first empire. Sargon also appointed his daughter, Enheduanna, as a High Priestess. Her writings are the first known works by an author in world history.

Ancient Egypt

Soon after the Sumerian civilization began, the Nile valley in Egypt was united around 3150 BC under the Pharaohs. Ancient Egypt had three major periods of great civilization:

The Old Kingdom (2686–2181 BC)
The Middle Kingdom (2055–1650 BC)
The New Kingdom (1550–1069 BC)

The history of Ancient Egypt ended around 332 BC, leading into the time of Ptolemaic Egypt.

The Levant and Anatolia

Civilization quickly spread from Mesopotamia through the Fertile Crescent to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, known as the Levant, and also to ancient Anatolia. Ancient kingdoms and city-states in the Levant included Ebla, Ugarit, the Kingdom of Israel, and the Kingdom of Judah. The Phoenician civilization was a maritime trading culture that founded cities around the Mediterranean, including Carthage in 814 BC.

Assyrian Empires

Mesopotamia was home to powerful empires that ruled almost the entire Middle East. The Assyrian Empires (1365–1076 BC and 911–605 BC) were especially strong. At its peak, the Assyrian Empire was the largest the world had seen, controlling modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, Cyprus, Bahrain, and parts of Iran, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Sudan, and Arabia.

The Assyrian empires had a huge and lasting impact on the Near East, bringing advanced civilization to many areas.

Later Empires: Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans

From the early 6th century BC, several Persian states took control of the region, starting with the Medes and the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Then came the Achaemenid Empire, known as the first Persian Empire. This empire was later conquered by Alexander the Great's short-lived Macedonian Empire in the late 4th century BC. After Alexander, new kingdoms like Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid state emerged.

The idea of the Persian Empire was revived by the Parthians in the 3rd century BC, and later by the Sassanids from the 3rd century AD. These empires controlled large parts of the Middle East until the Arab Muslim conquest of Persia in the mid-7th century AD. For centuries, the Roman Empire and the Parthian/Sassanid empires often fought over the region in what were called the Roman-Persian Wars.

In 66–63 BC, the Roman general Pompey conquered much of the Middle East. The Roman Empire united the region with most of Europe and North Africa. Even areas not directly ruled were greatly influenced by the powerful Roman Empire. Although Greek culture and language were already strong in the region (from Alexander's time), Roman culture also spread. Cities like Alexandria became major centers, and Egypt became a key food producer for the Empire.

As Christianity spread, it took root in the Middle East, with cities like Alexandria and Edessa becoming important centers of Christian learning. By the 5th century, Christianity was the main religion. The Middle East became linked to the new Roman capital of Constantinople (the Eastern Roman Empire).

Byzantine Empire

The Eastern Roman Empire, known as the Byzantine Empire, ruled from the Balkans to the Euphrates. It became very focused on Christianity, which sometimes caused religious differences with people in other parts of the Middle East. Greek became the main language, and the Levant region experienced a time of stability and prosperity under Byzantine rule.

Medieval Middle East

Before Islam

In the 5th century, the Middle East was divided into smaller states. The two most important were the Sasanian Empire (Persians) in what is now Iran and Iraq, and the Byzantine Empire in Anatolia (Turkey) and the Levant. These two empires often fought, continuing a rivalry that had lasted for centuries between the Roman and Persian empires. The Byzantines saw themselves as defenders of Greek culture and Christianity, while the Sasanians championed ancient Iranian traditions and the Persian religion, Zoroastrianism.

The Arabian Peninsula also played a role in these power struggles. The Byzantines allied with the Kingdom of Aksum in Africa, while the Sasanian Empire supported the Himyarite Kingdom in Yemen. This rivalry led to conflicts over control of Red Sea trade. Both empires were weakened by constant fighting, especially the war from 602–628. This left the region open for a new power to rise.

The nomadic Bedouin tribes lived in the Arabian desert, organized in small clans. Cities and farming were limited in Arabia, except for a few coastal areas. Mecca and Medina were important trading hubs between Africa and Asia. Some Arabs also settled in the fertile lands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, forming kingdoms that connected Arabia to the outside world. Before Islam, people in Arabia were familiar with Abrahamic religions like Christianity and Judaism.

The Rise of Islam and Caliphates

While the Byzantine and Sassanid empires were weakened by war, Islam began to grow in the Middle East. In a series of fast conquests, Arab armies, led by the Caliphs, swept through most of the Middle East. They took more than half of Byzantine territory and completely conquered the Persian lands. They were stopped in Anatolia by the Byzantines and Bulgarians.

However, the Muslim conquerors took over Roman Syria, North Africa, and Sicily. To the west, they crossed into Spain before being stopped in southern France. At its largest, the Arab Empire was the first empire to control the entire Middle East, along with much of the Mediterranean region. These Arab Caliphates in the Middle Ages unified the Middle East as a distinct region and helped create the Arab identity that is still strong today. The Seljuq Empire also later ruled the region.

Later, European kings launched a series of Crusades to try to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslim power. The Crusades were not successful in their main goal but further weakened the Byzantine Empire. They also changed the balance of power in the Muslim world, with Egypt becoming a major power again.

Islamic Culture and Science

Religion has always been very important in Middle Eastern culture, influencing learning, architecture, and daily life. When Muhammad introduced Islam, it sparked a golden age of Middle Eastern culture. There were great achievements in architecture, and old scientific and technological advances were revived. Islam created a need for beautifully built mosques, leading to a unique style of architecture. Some famous mosques include the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the former Mosque of Cordoba in Spain.

Muslim scholars preserved and spread Greek knowledge in medicine, algebra, geometry, astronomy, anatomy, and ethics. These ideas later returned to Western Europe. Muslim scholars also discovered the Hindu–Arabic numeral system during their conquests in South Asia. This number system became widely used around the world and was crucial for the Scientific revolution in Europe. Muslim thinkers became experts in chemistry, optics, and mapmaking. Much of this knowledge eventually reached the West, especially during the Crusades, when European warriors brought back Muslim treasures and ideas.

Turks, Crusaders, and Mongols

The strong rule of the Arabs changed suddenly in the mid-11th century with the arrival of the Seljuq Turks from Central Asia. They conquered Persia, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, and the Hejaz. Egypt remained under the Fatimid caliphs for a while but also fell to the Turks later.

The Seljuks ruled most of the Middle East for about 200 years, but their empire eventually broke into smaller sultanates. The Christian Byzantine Empire was still powerful, but the Seljuks' victory over them in the Battle of Manzikert in the 11th century marked the end of Byzantine power.

In 1095, Pope Urban II called on European nobles to recapture the Holy Land for Christianity. In 1099, knights of the First Crusade captured Jerusalem and established the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This kingdom lasted until 1187, when Saladin retook the city. Smaller crusader kingdoms survived until 1291.

Mongol Rule

In 1258, the Mongol Empire conquered Baghdad, ending the Abbasid Caliphate and adding its lands to the Mongol Empire (except for Egypt and most of Arabia). The Mongol Empire later split, and the Middle Eastern territory became the independent Ilkhanate, which included parts of Armenia, Anatolia, Azerbaijan, Mesopotamia, and Iran.

The Mongols eventually left in 1335, and the Seljuq Turks were overthrown. In 1401, the region faced more raids from the Turko-Mongol leader, Timur. By then, another group of Turks, the Ottomans, had risen to power in Anatolia. By 1566, they had conquered the Iraq-Iran region, the Balkans, Greece, and most of Egypt and North Africa, uniting them under the Ottoman Empire. The rule of the Ottoman sultans marked the end of the Medieval Era in the Middle East.

Early Modern Middle East

The Ottoman Empire (1299–1918)

The Ottoman Empire at its largest in the Middle East, including its client states.

Selim the Grim, an Ottoman leader who conquered much of the Middle East

By the early 15th century, the Ottoman Empire became a new power in western Anatolia. The Ottoman leaders captured the Christian Byzantine capital of Constantinople in 1453 and became sultans. The Ottomans conquered Syria in 1516 and Egypt in 1517. They also took Iraq from the Iranian Safavids.

The Ottomans united the entire region under one ruler for the first time since the 10th century, and they kept control for 400 years. They also ruled Greece, the Balkans, and most of Hungary. While some areas like Albania and Bosnia saw many people convert to Islam, Ottoman Europe did not become culturally absorbed into the Muslim world.

Competition with the West

By 1699, the Ottomans had lost territory in Europe. Europe had grown much stronger than the Muslim world in wealth, population, and technology. The industrial revolution and the growth of capitalism further widened this gap. From 1768 to 1918, the Ottomans gradually lost more land.

Greece, Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria gained independence in the 19th century. The Ottoman Empire became known as the "sick man of Europe" and was increasingly controlled financially by European powers. This control soon turned into direct conquest. France took Algeria in 1830 and Tunisia in 1878. Britain occupied Egypt in 1882, though it remained officially under Ottoman rule. In the Balkan Wars of 1912–13, the Ottomans were driven out of Europe almost entirely.

Britain also gained strong control of the Persian Gulf, and France increased its influence in Lebanon and Syria. In 1912, Italy seized Libya and some islands near Turkey. The Ottomans turned to Germany for protection from Western powers, but this led to them becoming more dependent on Germany.

Ottoman Reforms

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Middle Eastern rulers tried to modernize their countries to compete with Europe. In the Ottoman Empire, reforms strengthened Ottoman rule and led to the creation of a constitution and a parliament. In Persia (Iran), a revolution in 1906 also aimed to bring in Western-style government, laws, education, and industry. Across the region, railways and telegraph lines were built, schools and universities opened, and a new class of educated people emerged, challenging traditional leaders.

However, the first Ottoman constitutional experiment ended when Sultan Abdul Hamid II took all power for himself. A reform movement called the Young Turks rose against his rule. The Young Turks took power in 1908, bringing back the constitution and allowing elections. They later formed an alliance with Germany, which they saw as the most advanced military power.

Modern Middle East

End of the Ottoman Empire

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, an Ottoman general and the founder of modern Turkey

In 1878, the United Kingdom took control of Cyprus from the Ottoman Empire. Cypriots initially welcomed British rule, hoping for prosperity and freedom, but they soon became disappointed. The British imposed high taxes and did not allow Cypriots to participate in governing the island.

Meanwhile, the defeat of the Ottomans and the division of Anatolia by the Allies after World War I led to resistance from the Turkish people. Under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Turks won the Turkish War of Independence and founded the modern Republic of Turkey in 1923. As the first President, Atatürk began a program of modernization and secularization. He abolished the caliphate, gave women more rights, adopted Western dress and a new Turkish alphabet based on Latin script, and ended the power of Islamic courts. Turkey decided to separate itself culturally from the Middle East and become more like Europe.

Another major turning point was the discovery of oil. First in Persia (Iran) in 1908, and later in Saudi Arabia (1938) and other Persian Gulf states, Libya, and Algeria. The Middle East had the world's largest easily accessible oil reserves, which became the most important resource in the 20th century. The rulers of these oil-rich states became very wealthy by exporting oil to the West.

As Western countries became dependent on Middle Eastern oil and British influence declined, American interest in the region grew. At first, Western oil companies controlled oil production. However, local movements to nationalize oil assets and the creation of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) shifted power towards the Arab oil states.

World War I and Aftermath

In 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I against Britain and France. The British saw the Ottomans as a weak point and tried to knock them out of the war. After a direct attack failed, they encouraged revolutions within the Ottoman Empire, using the growing force of Arab nationalism against the Ottomans.

The British allied with Sharif Hussein, the ruler of Mecca, who led an Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule, after being promised independence.

The Allies, led by Britain, won the war and took most of the Ottoman territories. Turkey managed to survive. The war greatly increased British and French involvement in the region, led to the creation of new Middle Eastern states like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and saw the rise of nationalist politics. It also led to the rapid growth of the Middle Eastern oil industry.

Ottoman Defeat and Division (1918–22)

When the Ottoman Empire was defeated in 1918, the Arab people did not get the independent state they wanted. British and French governments had secretly agreed to divide the Middle East between them in the Sykes–Picot Agreement. In 1917, the British also announced the Balfour Declaration, promising support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

When the Ottomans left, the Arabs declared an independent state in Damascus, but they were too weak to resist the European powers. Britain and France quickly took control and reorganized the Middle East to suit their interests.

Syria became a French protectorate under a League of Nations mandate. The Christian coastal areas were separated to become Lebanon, another French protectorate. Iraq and Palestine became British mandated territories. Iraq became the "Kingdom of Iraq" with Faisal, one of Sharif Hussein's sons, as king. Iraq included large populations of Kurds, Assyrians, and Turkmens, many of whom had been promised their own independent states.

Britain was given a Mandate for Palestine in 1920. This meant Britain would govern Palestine directly. The Jewish population in Palestine, which was small in 1918, was allowed to immigrate freely, buy land, and set up a kind of shadow government under British protection. The area east of the Jordan River was added to the British Mandate and became Transjordan. Most of the Arabian Peninsula came under the control of another British ally, Ibn Saud, who created the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.

1920–1945

During the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, Syria and Egypt worked towards independence. In 1919, Egypt saw large protests against British rule. In 1922, the (officially) independent Kingdom of Egypt was created, though Britain still had troops there to protect the Suez Canal. In 1941, a coup in Iraq led to a British invasion. This was followed by Allied invasions of Syria-Lebanon and Iran.

In Palestine, the conflicting goals of Arab nationalism and Zionism created a difficult situation for the British. The rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany made the Zionist goal of creating a Jewish state in Palestine more urgent. Arab leaders also wanted a Palestinian state, seeing British, French, and perceived Jewish influence as a form of colonialism.

New States After World War II

After World War II, the British, French, and Soviets left many parts of the Middle East. Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the states in the Arabian Peninsula generally kept their borders. However, seven Middle Eastern states gained (or regained) their independence:

November 22, 1943 – Lebanon
January 1, 1944 – Syria
May 22, 1946 – Jordan
1947 – Iraq
1947 – Egypt
1948 – Israel
August 16, 1960 – Cyprus

The conflict between Arabs and Jews in Palestine became very intense, leading to the 1947 United Nations plan to divide Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state. Jewish leaders accepted this plan, but Arab leaders rejected it.

On May 14, 1948, when the British Mandate ended, the Zionist leadership declared the State of Israel. In the 1948 Arab–Israeli War that followed, armies from Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia intervened but were defeated by Israel. About 800,000 Palestinians became refugees in neighboring countries, creating the "Palestinian problem." Around two-thirds of the Jews who left or were forced to flee from Arab lands after 1948 were welcomed and became citizens in Israel.

On August 16, 1960, Cyprus gained independence from the United Kingdom. Archbishop Makarios III became its first president.

Modern States and Conflicts

Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter and Anwar Sadat signed a peace treaty in 1978.

The modern Middle East was shaped by three main things: European powers leaving, the creation of Israel, and the growing importance of the oil industry. These led to increased U.S. involvement in the region. The United States became a key supporter of stability and a major player in the oil industry after the 1950s. When revolutions brought new anti-Western governments to power in Egypt (1954), Syria (1963), Iraq (1968), and Libya (1969), the Soviet Union allied with these Arab socialist leaders.

These new governments gained support by promising to challenge Israel and "Western imperialists," and to bring prosperity to the Arab people. However, when the Six-Day War of 1967 ended with a clear Israeli victory, many saw it as a failure of Arab socialism. This marked a turning point where Islamism (a political movement based on Islamic laws) began to fill the political gap.

The United States felt it needed to defend its remaining allies, like the monarchies of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, and the Persian Gulf emirates. Iran, in particular, became a key U.S. ally until a revolution led by religious leaders overthrew the monarchy in 1979. This established a religious state that was even more anti-Western than the secular governments in Iraq or Syria. The region has seen many Arab-Israeli wars, including the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, 1956 Suez War, 1967 Six-Day War, and 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In Cyprus, conflicts between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots from 1955 to 1974 led to violence and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The Cyprus dispute remains unsolved.

In the mid-to-late 1960s, the Ba'ath Party took power in both Iraq and Syria. Iraq was led by Saddam Hussein from 1979, and Syria was led by Hafez al-Assad from 1970, followed by his son, Bashar al-Assad.

In 1979, Egypt, under Anwar Sadat, signed a peace treaty with Israel, ending the idea of a united Arab military front. From the 1970s, the Palestinians, led by Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, began a long campaign of violence against Israel and against American and Western targets. They were supported by Syria, Libya, Iran, and Iraq.

The late 1970s also saw the start of the Iran–Iraq War between Iran and Iraq. Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, and the war became a long and costly stalemate with many deaths on both sides.

The fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s had several effects on the Middle East. Many Soviet Jews moved to Israel, strengthening the Jewish state. The anti-Western Arab governments lost an important source of support and weapons. The possibility of cheap oil from Russia lowered oil prices and reduced the West's dependence on Arab oil. It also showed that authoritarian state socialism, which Egypt, Algeria, Syria, and Iraq had followed, was not working. Leaders like Saddam Hussein in Iraq increasingly relied on Arab nationalism instead of socialism.

Saddam Hussein led Iraq into a long war with Iran from 1980 to 1988, and then invaded Kuwait in 1990. Kuwait had been part of an Ottoman province before 1918, and Iraq had recognized its independence in 1961. In response, the United States formed a coalition with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Syria, and with UN approval, forced Iraq out of Kuwait in the Gulf War. The Gulf War led to a permanent U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf, especially in Saudi Arabia, which angered many Muslims and was cited by Osama bin Laden as a reason for the September 11 attacks.

1990s to Today

A map of the Middle East (2003)

While many parts of the world saw changes towards more democratic governments after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this did not happen much in the Middle East. Only Israel, Turkey, and to some extent Lebanon and the Palestinian territories were considered democracies. Many countries had legislative bodies, but they had little real power. In the Persian Gulf states, most people could not vote because they were guest workers, not citizens.

In most Middle Eastern countries, economic growth was limited by political restrictions, corruption, and too much reliance on oil revenues. Successful economies were found in countries with lots of oil and small populations, like Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. These countries allowed some political and social freedoms, but the rulers kept their power. Lebanon also rebuilt its economy after a long civil war in the 1980s.

At the start of the 21st century, these factors increased conflict in the Middle East, affecting the whole world. Bill Clinton's attempt to make peace between Israel and Palestine in 2000 failed, leading to more violence.

At the same time, the failures of many Arab governments and the decline of secular Arab movements led some educated Arabs and Muslims to embrace Islamism. This was promoted by religious leaders in Iran and by the Wahhabist group in Saudi Arabia. Many militant Islamists gained military training while fighting Soviet forces in Afghanistan. One of these militants was Osama bin Laden, who formed the al-Qaida organization. Al-Qaeda was responsible for attacks on U.S. embassies in 1998, the USS Cole bombing, and the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. These attacks led the U.S. to invade Afghanistan in 2001 to overthrow the Taliban regime, which had been hiding Bin Laden. The U.S. and its allies called this the "War on Terror."

In 2002, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld planned to invade Iraq, remove Saddam Hussein, and turn Iraq into a democratic state with a free market. The U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq in April 2003 and removed Saddam without much difficulty.

The presence of a new Western army in a Middle Eastern capital marked a turning point. Despite elections in January 2005, much of Iraq became unstable due to an insurgency and ethnic violence. Many educated and business people fled the country, further destabilizing the region. A surge in U.S. forces helped control the insurgency and stabilize the country. U.S. forces left Iraq by December 2011.

By 2005, peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians were stalled. Israel then moved towards its own solutions, building a barrier in the West Bank and proposing to withdraw from Gaza. In 2006, a new conflict broke out between Israel and the Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon, further delaying peace prospects.

In the early 2010s, a wave of protests and revolutions known as the Arab Spring swept through several Middle Eastern countries. This was followed by long civil wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya. In 2014, a terrorist group calling itself the Islamic State quickly gained control of large areas in western Iraq and eastern Syria, leading to international military intervention.